Visits From an Old Friend
by Miss Pontmercy
Summary: Strange visitors begin passing through the Pontmercy household in 1838. Is there some unfinished business to attend to?
1. Cosette

**This came to me in the middle of a dance class, because I really wanted to see what would happen if these two characters talked to each other. Lemme know what you think!**

* * *

"Sleep," Cosette ordered in the softest whisper she could manage, and carefully backed out of her son's room. It had taken forty-five minutes to get him to calm down enough for a nap- for an eighteen-month-old, Jean was quite strong, and also stubborn. Once she shut the door, Cosette sighed with relief and counted to ten. When no whimpers came from the room, she returned downstairs.

She had just settled into an arm chair and opened a book when a loud crude voice cut through the silence.

"God _dammit! _Where the hell am I?!"

Now, even without the language, this interjection made Cosette extremely angry. If whomever just yelled that obscenity woke up Jean, well, she'd just have to teach them a lesson. But who _could _that have been?

Getting up from her chair, she left the living room and looked around the hall. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen was a young, dark-haired man she's never seen before who was about Marius' age, looking about in confusion.

"Monsieur?" she asked suspiciously. "May I help you?"

He jumped about a foot in the air. "Who are you?"

_I could ask you the same thing, _she wanted to say. After all- this was her house he'd intruded. "Madame Pontmercy," she answered, looking at him carefully.

"_Madame_Pontmercy?" He sounded so surprised!

"Why, _yes,_" she said. "I am a woman, so therefore I am _Madame._"

"Ah, forgive me, _Madame._ I know you are a woman," he smiled warmly at her. Too warmly. "I was just surprised at the surname. But it helped, you see. For now I know where I am! Here to see my good old friend!"

Cosette had nothing to say in response, so she asked another question. "May I ask who let you in here?"

"You may. Though I don't have much of an answer for you, Madame. I'll just have to settle for... the man upstairs, if you understand." He pointed a finger at the ceiling. She had no idea what he was talking about- she was sure Basque had gone out.

"What do you want, Monsieur?" This man confused her. She'd never met him before, and his presence felt odd to her. Like he shouldn't be in her home.

"I wish to speak to your husband," he said. "At least, I think that's why I was sent here. My goodness, it's so strange to imagine him- married!" He laughed aloud.

Cosette, offended, stiffened. "He's out," Cosette said simply.

"With _who?_ Don't tell me he's got _friends!"_ Again, he laughed.

"Monsieur, he is out on a walk with his daughter-"

"Marius has _children?!"_ This time, his laugh turned to a series of bellowing hoots.

"_Monsieur Pontmercy_ has _two_ children," she replied curtly. Who on earth was this man, and how did he know Marius? Though she hated to agree with anything he said, he was right about one thing... she wasn't aware that Marius had friends. So who was he?

"Oh, the poor little beings! What do they _look_ like? Ugh! But they're your children too, I take it? So maybe they are attractive... and they probably are your children- I remember Marius' aversion to women- he wouldn't talk to a single one! But if he's got _you, _well then-_"_

That was it. "Monsieur, if you have something important to pass on to Marius, I suggest to relay it to me. Otherwise if you'd just move on and-"

"Hold it there," the man said, holding up a finger and silencing Cosette. It was a moment before he spoke again, his eyes carefully scanning her face. "I know you. I remember you." His voice was quieter this time, thoughtful.

"Well I most certainly don't remember _you,_" Cosette shot back.

"You're Mademoiselle Lenoire."

_What? _"I _used_to be Mademoiselle Fauchelevent. Now I am-"

"With Monsieur Leblanc. The old man with the white hair! You're that girl from the Luxembourg!"

Cosette took a step back. She didn't know who these black and white people were, but from the other descriptions, he might actually be right.

"How do you know me?" she asked, this time somewhat apprehensive.

"I used to walk with Marius in the Luxembourg! And you were there with that old man- only, you don't look the same. Back then you were... you were... Well, now, Madame, you are much more beautiful." Again with the warm smile. She shuddered delicately. "I never properly introduced myself," he extended his hand. "Monsieur de Courfeyrac. Call me Courfeyrac."

She politely extended her own hand, pulling it back just before he touched it with his lips. "How do you know my husband?"

Again this Courfeyrac person laughed. "Well, I thought I knew _everything _about the man- but apparently I knew nothing at all! See he didn't tell me about your little romance-"

"Monsieur, this isn't very proper-" Cosette interjected, embarrassed now.

"Oh, don't worry, it's all between friends, eh? Anyway, he wouldn't tell me anything, but I can guess it all now. _That's_ why he walked around like an oaf in his new suit and went to the Luxembourg every day! Ha! He never told me how beautiful you were- well, actually, he never told me anything. But I was not completely stupid- when he didn't return until one in the morning most nights, I knew something was up."

"Monsieur, is there something you need? Because I'm not sure I know what you came here for-"

"Oh, I'm not sure either, darling. Can we sit down?" Without waiting for an answer, he brushed past Cosette and took a seat on their couch. Cosette, feeling flustered, followed him inside and took a seat opposite him.

"Do you remember my name at all? See, I'm slightly surprised he never spoke of me! After I let him live with me for all that time and everything-"

Cosette held up her hand to silence him. She _did _remember. '_I already owe Courfeyrac more than ten louis- he's a friend of mine you don't know.'_ Marius lived with this man five years ago when they were meeting in her garden. But now that she thought on it, she remembered something else. The first time she'd met Marius' family and they were planning the wedding, his grandfather had asked if he had any good friends. '_There was Courfeyrac.' 'What happened to him?' 'He's dead.'_

He said he didn't know why he was here. '_...the man upstairs, if you understand...'_

At once, she stood up.

"Get out," she said, her voice filled with fear. "I don't know how you came here, or why, but I remember you now- and _you shouldn't be here!_ You're... you're _not alive!"_

"You remember me!" Courfeyrac exclaimed, purely happy. "So he did mention me! Ah, I always knew he loved me! I didn't die for nothing, I knew it!"

Cosette just let out a shriek.

At that moment, the door opened, and Marius entered holding little Marie in his arms.

"Hello," he called, then. "I see we have a visitor."

He handed Marie off to Cosette, not noticing how dumbstruck she was. Then he turned to greet their visitor, and extended his hand. He handed uttered one word, however, when Courfeyrac turned and smiled.

"I've missed you, my friend."

Then Marius fainted.


	2. Marius

**Please review this if you like it, and maybe give me a suggestion or two for development's sake. I need them, and I'll try to take them as best I can!**

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Marie gave out a little cry upon seeing her father faint dead away on the floor.

"Maman!" she whimpered. "What is wrong with Papa?"

"He's fine, Marie," Cosette said, trying to reassure her daughter while her own heart was pounding in her chest. "He sometimes does this."

"He falls on the floor?" Marie asked, confused.

"Yes, little girl," Courfeyrac explained. "Your father tends to let his emotions get the better of him."

Cosette just shot him a look, and then set Marie down on the floor as she got down on her knees and attempted to turn Marius over, who was lying face down. Courfeyrac stooped as well, and Cosette flinched as he began helping her. As if the dead friend's assistance would really help Marius- his very presence was the problem here.

"Now, I haven't introduced myself, little girl," Courfeyrac said, extending a hand, one finger out for the little girl to hold. "I'm Uncle Courfeyrac!"

Marie blushed and hid her face in her mother's skirts, as per her age. Just over three, she had taken to being quite afraid of anyone who was not her mother or father. For her part, Cosette's stomach was twisting at the thought of her little angel calling this crude man 'Uncle.'

"Ah," came a sigh from the floor.

"I see my friend has woken!" Courfeyrac thundered, jumping to his feet. "He lives!"

"Monsieur, if I may ask for you to _please keep your voice down,_" Cosette hissed, thinking anxiously of her strong-lunged son upstairs.

"I apologize, m'lady," he said, bowing low and speaking obnoxiously quietly. "I am deeply sorry for disturbing you."

Cosette did not know what to say. Instead, she just picked Marie up and held her to her chest. When Marius' eyes fluttered open, he saw three concerned faces looking down at him.

"Oh, no," he said, covering his eyes with his hand.

"Marius, darling?" Cosette asked. "Are you alright? Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"I must have, otherwise he wouldn't be here!" Marius cried, pointing blindly at Courfeyrac, who just gave a satisfied chuckled.

"Oh, no my friend. See, I was here for a solid quarter of an hour before you arrived!"

"Yes, he sat here terrorizing the household," Cosette shot back.

"Oh, please! That's an exaggeration!"

Marius sat up, rubbing his head. "Not that I'm not... er, pleased to see you, Courfeyrac, but how did you get here? Because I worry that your presence can mean nothing good. Either my sanity is going, or there is something severely wrong."

Courfeyrac shrugged, extending a hand and helping Marius to his feet. "My close-minded friend, I must say that neither of those assumptions is right. You might be a little over dramatic once in a while, but I assure you that you are quite sane. You have this straight-laced little doll to keep you in line," he said, gesturing to Cosette. She glared at him. "And as far as I know, there is nothing wrong. See, back up in Heaven, people tell stories about going back to Earth all the time! How do you think you humans thought of ghost stories! We really do visit once in a while-"

"Wait a minute," Marius said, holding up a finger. "How did _you_ get to Heaven?!"

He sounded flabbergasted. Courfeyrac let out a boisterous laugh.

"Ah, I've missed you so!" With that, he drew his long-lost friend into an embrace. "I've really missed your humor."

Marius laughed right back. "I'm only jesting- you were never _so_ bad. You just-"

"Bent the rules a little! Exactly!"

"Wait," Cosette said. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but explain something to me. To us," she gestured to Marius. "You are _dead."_

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Madame, but indeed I am," Courfeyrac said solemnly.

"But you're _here._"

He nodded slowly. "Before your very eyes!"

"How can that be?"

Courfeyrac shrugged. "I suppose that good old fellow thought I'd just missed my dear comrade Monsieur Pontmercy too much!"

Cosette raised an eyebrow. This did not make any sense. "Do you have any idea how long you'll be here?"

Again, he shrugged. "Not a clue. However, I can assure you that I am quite solid," he patted himself on the chest, "and for the first time in a long time, I feel quite _alive._ For the time being, I'd appreciate it if I could have a place to sleep?"

"Of course," Marius said. "Granted the chance to see you again, we'll put you up as best we can."

"And could I maybe have something to eat...?" he asked, ever-so-politely.

"Certainly. Cosette, could you...?"

She nodded, then turned, rolling her eyes. Before she went to the kitchen to tell them to prepare something, she took her time setting Marie up in the nursery, reading her a story and settling her down for a nap. Then she found the cook and Nicolette, and let them know of their newest visitor.

On her way back to the living room, she saw Marius come down the stairs.

"I've just shown him to where he's staying," Marius reported.

"What on _earth _is going on?" Cosette demanded. Marius shook his head.

"I'm without any information. This is baffling- Courfeyrac! He's... he's-"

"Dead."

"But apparently, he's quite alive. He's upstairs in my grandfather's old room!"

Cosette held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "He said it himself- he's dead. So what is he doing here?"

"Obviously there's something he has to do- something he has to take care of. Unfinished business of some kind."

"Marius, you're talking like they do in those old ghost stories," Cosette argued.

"Cosette, have you noticed? We seem to be in a ghost story right now. Only it's not frightening... it's Courfeyrac."

"I do have one question for you, Marius," Cosette asked. "How were _you_, gentle, polite, _you,_ ever friends with _him?_ He's crude, he's sarcastic, he's flirtatious, he's-"

"Courfeyrac," Maris explained. "That's just who he is, and he was my friend somehow. He made me laugh... but he also made others laugh at my expense quite frequently, too." He frowned, remembering.

"I don't understand it at all," she said to Marius just as their visitor's footsteps began echoing as they descended the stairs. "But we'll have to help him get back."

"Put him at peace?" Marius asked, noting how morbid it sounded.

"Ah, Marius!" Courfeyrac said, looping an arm around the other man's shoulders. "I am at peace, here with you and your lovely wife!"

With that, he planted a kiss on each of their cheeks. Cosette let out a little noise of disgust, and Marius wormed away, forgetting how affectionate Courfeyrac could get.

"Let's start _now,_" Cosette whispered under her breath. Marius couldn't help but agree.

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**Remember people! Suggestions, please!**


	3. Long Awaited Words

At first, Marius agreed wholeheartedly with Cosette's wish to send Courfeyrac in his way. After all, the four Pontmercys lived a quiet life with the servants and the nurses who came for the children. They has visitors and dinner parties and friends who often stopped by, but they were not used to the energetic and excitable life that Courfeyrac brought to the house.

But as the initial shock drained away, Marius began to forget why Courfeyrac shouldn't be with them. After all, his friend seemed just as he always had been- it was easy to forget that he was not alive. Courfeyrac laughed and ate with them at dinner, sparked political arguments with Marius, disturbed Marius' work, and teased Cosette. He actually was very good to Marie who, once she warmed toward the visitor, adored Courfeyrac. To Cosette's horror, Marie had indeed taken to calling him 'uncle.'

Marius began remembering all the good times he'd had with his friend. They resumed their easy banter, arguing and debating and laughing and joking, getting along just as they had years ago when they were in that time between boyhood and manhood. Furthermore, it was just so much easier to accept him as a new member of their household than as a ghost. Marius had no idea what kind of unfinished business Courfeyrac had left, so he just let it be and ignored the mystery altogether.

One night in bed, Marius was reading a book when Cosette joined him.

"Marius," she said, putting a hand on his arm to get his attention. He put the book down and looked her in the eye. "Have you thought any more about why Monsieur Courfeyrac has been sent here?"

Marius cracked a smile. "Cosette, if Courfeyrac heard you call him 'monsieur,' he would be very upset."

"Marius," she said seriously.

He sighed. "Yes, I have, but I haven't come to any conclusions."

She shook her head. "Neither have I. It seems relatively harmless, his return here. He seems to be existing like the rest of us. I don't understand it at all."

Marius had to agree- it truly was a puzzle that they could not seem to solve. Without reaching any conclusions, they blew out the candles and went to sleep. The only thought that drifted through his mind was how he hated being here, alive, knowing that Courfeyrac was dead. Not that he wanted to trade places, but Marius felt a bit guilty knowing he'd somehow won the highest prize in Heaven, while his friend hadn't even made it past twenty-five.

* * *

"Good morning!" a voice cried, knocking on the door, and then abandoning the practice altogether and flinging it open. "The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and it is time for the lovers to awaken!"

Cosette sat up, taken aback, and grabbed the sheet to cover herself more aptly. Then she remembered that, being winter, she was wearing her high-necked, long sleeved cotton nightgown.

"Courfeyrac," Marius protested, holding up an arm to block out the blinding January sunlight that was now shining intrusively through the windows that Courfeyrac had just exposed. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up," he responded. "If you're going to spend that much time in bed, at least be doing something more interesting than sleeping."

"Courfeyrac, it's seven in the morning," Marius mumbled half-heartedly. Cosette shot him a look, as if to say 'get angry!'

"I know," he remarked, nodding. "And like I said, you have no reason to be in bed with this creature if all you're doing is sleeping-"

"Courfeyrac!" Marius called for the third time, finally annoyed.

"-and so I am now depriving you of the privilege, because you seem to have wasted it thus far."

"Get. Out." Marius ordered, Cosette glowering next to him.

"No. I also wanted to point out that at this very moment, students from the university are holding a protest against-"

"May we discuss this later?" Marius said, exasperated.

Courfeyrac sighed dramatically. "Fine. Get dressed and meet me downstairs in ten minutes," he ordered.

"This is my house!" Marius called after him as he left. "Don't tell me what to do!"

But the door shut, and Marius got out of bed and began dressing.

He was about to leave and follow Courfeyrac when Cosette got out of bed and opened the door to the wardrobe.

"Marius," she said, the annoyed look on her face saying it all.

"I know, I know. A week, Cosette. Give me a week, my love, and he will be back where he belongs."

"I don't mind him being here- after all, he is your friend. But if he's going to stay and defy all the laws of natural philosophy like this, at least tell him to have some decency and not bother us before eight 'clock."

Two minutes later, Marius had dressed and met his friend downstairs in his library.

"What is it you were saying?" Marius began, saving his more disapproving lecture for later.

"I was letting you know that I went out yesterday and talked to a few students from the university. They're going to the trial of some political official- I'm not exactly up on the names anymore since I haven't been paying that much attention when I've been Upstairs- but they're going to throw a protest against the oppressive monarchy-"

"Courfeyrac, it's not a monarchy-"

"Republic, my arse! It's just a monarchy with republic written on it."

Marius rolled his eyes, knowing full well that his friend was right about the government.

"Anyway Marius, the trial's at noon and they are getting there at ten to start before everyone gets there. There's going to be about forty students, and we have to fly if we're going to get anyone else to go-"

"No," Marius said sternly.

"What?" Courfeyrac asked, already half out the door.

"I'm not going," he said simply. "That part of my life is over. You may do as you like, but you are forbidden from bringing any of this political warfare into my house, near my family."

"'Political warfare'?" Courfeyrac scoffed.

"Courfeyrac," Marius stated with as much authority as he could manage. "I won't be the hotheaded, belligerent man again. I am your friend, and I will be here to help you, but like I said, I now have a family and I am not getting involved with that again."

"As if you ever did!" Courfeyrac cried. Marius finally seemed to have touched a nerve. "You hung around with us as long as you pleased, walking out as soon as one of us insulted your precious Napoleon- or, excuse me. Insulted your father." He held up his hands in a sarcastic apology. "Then you abandoned us, our cause, completely. Hell, I didn't even _speak_ to you for weeks before I died. And I know why. Your family, right? But then, they weren't your family. _She _wasn't your family. You had no family, save me, your friend. But you abandoned me like you abandoned all of us. It was sheer luck you ended up here, with all this," Courfeyrac said, spitefully gesturing around the room and all is grandeur. The gilded books on the shelves, the mahogany furniture. "You can't argue that you were ever one of us if you're perfectly content to sit here and take what a rich man gave you. So don't act like you ever were one of us- you're a rich man, uncaring about us, the underdogs_,_ just like all that we ever stood against."

When he finished, the two men stood in anger, seething at each other for a solid minute. When the words had tumbled out of Courfeyrac's mouth, he had already regretted some. He did not begrudge his friend his happiness. But here he was, happy in a wealthy home, well-fed and warm, with a family who loved him, whereas Courfeyrac was cold, dead, alone. And he missed him.

Did he wish Marius had died with them, all of them? Courfeyrac could remember the memories of the barricade far more easily than Marius could. For the dead, the few hours that had taken place right before death were always the clearest in memory. He remembered every explosion, every cry of passion and every cry of death. He remembered when Marius had appeared, pale and ghost-like and behaving as such. It had seemed so important at the time, and yet...

Look at what Marius had, here. Was it worth giving that all up?

Courfeyrac's thoughts were interrupted by Marius finally speaking up. He had expected him to yell right back, but his words were soft.

"I would tell you to leave, but I realize you have nowhere to go. I... I am sorry I was not a better friend to you, Courfeyrac," Marius said seriously, straightening himself up and seeming to say words that had been stewing in his mind. "I truly am. I've regretted it, but I do not regret surviving the barricade. I only wished you had survived with me." He teetered on the edge of his words, unsure of whether to continue. "I've missed you greatly, my friend. I'm not sorry that the fire you all had burning inside of you did not burn in me. I am sorry that the fire you all had eventually scorched you." He gestured towards his dead friend, looking beseechingly at him.

"Marius," Courfeyrac said, drawing him into a brotherly embrace. "I've missed you. I really have. And I'm not sorry you survived. One of us had to, I suppose. For a long time, I've wanted to wish you well. I'm glad for you. You always seemed lost somehow, when I was alive. But now you seem to have found your place. And I'm glad. So, good luck to you, Marius."

Marius nodded, unsure of what to say. "Thank you. I am, too. And I'm sorry, once again. I can't retrieve those few months that I spent ignoring you, but-"

"You had other things on your mind," Courfeyrac argued, a touch of humor touching his voice and a smile on his lips, becoming much more recognizable. "Ah, the joys of those gentle creatures, women! Their soft skin and hair, gentle sighs, sweet words..."

Marius smiled. "You're back."

"Not for long, I fear," Courfeyrac murmured, feeling as though he was slipping away by the second. "I'm glad I got to say those things- even the cruel ones. At least they're not stewing inside of me. Do you forgive me?"

Marius took his friends hand. "Of course I do. And I hope you can forgive me."

Courfeyrac shook his head. "I don't need to. But in case you're wondering, you are forgiven. But in my honor, Marius, please try and laugh at least once a day. I fear that in my absence you'll just resume being a morbid, humorless young old man."

Marius smiled despite himself.

"Thank you," he said, but the words had not left his lips when his dearest friend disappeared.

He looked around the library in disbelief, but it was empty. He heard footsteps walking about upstairs, the _clink_ of plates in the kitchen, but nothing else.

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**Just fyi, this isn't finished yet. :) Lemme know what you thought of it so far!**


	4. Reunions

**The continuation... Ha. Tell me if you like it or not. It's not as funny, because these characters aren't humorous, like our friend Courfeyrac. Still, I hope you like it. I do!**

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The next day, Cosette heard the front door open. Poking her head around the door, she saw a middle-aged man being escorted in by Basque. The man asked for Marius, but upon seeing Cosette, greeted her. Basque went up the stairs to find Marius.

"Madame!" the unknown man said, taking a respectful bow as she offered her hand politely. Looking him over more attentively, she saw he was on that middle-aged border right before he would become old. He had dark hair streaked with gray and was of average height. He had wrinkled on his face, but his posture was still strong and erect. There was something lingering on his face that she found extremely familiar, as though she knew this man when he was much younger. His face struck a chord with her, and she found herself searching her memory for this man when he was young. She could not say why, but it was striking.

"Welcome, Monsieur," she said, taking him into the living room, still trying to place him when the door opened and Marius walked in. She turned to face him and introduce him to their visitor, before realizing that she did not know his name. However, Marius seemed to know him. As she turned to face her husband, she was surprised to see him staring positively starstruck and trembling. One of his hands was reached out, and his mouth was open in a look of awe. He had gone pale, but looked less sickly than shocked.

"There you are," the man said with an air of relief in his voice. He had a scar across his face, but when he smiled, his face look unmarred and flashed to what it must have been twenty-years before. "I've been waiting a long time to see you."

Cosette's heart skipped a beat, at once recognizing him as he drew Marius to him in a fatherly embrace. Fatherly. She had never seen Georges Pontmercy before, but now she saw the resemblance between him and Marius. It was striking, and their looks of amazement were heartwarming to Cosette. She knew how Marius had longed for this moment, and it gave her happiness to see him finally get it.

However, she still needed to sit down. The room began spinning, and she landed with a soft thud on the chaise lounge. She heard Marius calling her name.

"I'm fine," she said, weakly. And she was- she felt fine, just overwhelmed. Whatever was going on? First Courfeyrac, now Marius' father? Had the doors of Heaven opened into their home? "I'm just a bit confused."

"And, Madame, I cannot say I blame you. I, too, am confused," Marius' father said kindly. "I can only tell you that an hour ago, I was sitting in my resting place, wishing I could have the opportunity to speak to my son, and then I was outside your door."

Cosette stared at him a little too long, then blinked, trying not to be rude. Marius, on the other hand, seemed perfectly accepting of the fact that his dead father was standing in their living room. Perhaps it was just that his wish had been granted.

Cosette regained her manners abruptly (dead or not, this man was a guest- more than that, he was family). She stood and offered her hand again. "I am very pleased to finally meet you, Monsieur."

"And I, you, Madame. I must say it is an honor."

"Marius has told me all about you."

Marius looked at the floor, embarrassed. "As much as I knew, anyway."

"Which, monsieur, has been as much as he could find. You have a very devoted son," she said. Marius looked up and once again met his fathers eyes, which were kind and loving. She sensed that she should let them speak privately. "Excuse me," she said.

"Wait!" Georges called after her. "If you please, Madame, when you return, may I please meet my grandchildren? I would like to see them as well. I've been watching over you from up above," he explained to Marius. "I've only caught snippets, but I know I have grandchildren, and I would adore to meet them."

Cosette nodded and smiled, then excused herself. However this had happened, she did not know. Marius' father visiting was one thing, but should their home become a revolving door between the after world and the earth, then she couldn't say what she'd think.

She made her way to the nursery to check on Marie, who was being watched over by the nurse, Julie. She'd been a wonderful find- attentive and kind, not like some of the nurses Cosette had seen with the children, who were stern and unsmiling. But before she went into the nursery, she turned into her and Marius' bedroom so she could change her dress. The one she was wearing had gotten dirt on the bottom while she was in the garden.

Opening the door and humming to herself- she was trying to put some of the more confused thoughts from her brain- Cosette was given quite the start. Her hand flew to her heart and she gave a small cry upon seeing another woman in the room. A woman she had never seen before.

The woman looked up, alarmed at the cry. She was blond, and Cosette's age almost to the very day. She was pale like Cosette, and had beautiful, white teeth. Her blond hair fell past her waist in thick, healthy curls. Their eyes locked, and Cosette only glimpsed the blue irises for a split second before the woman began to weep.

"It's you," she cried, standing up. Cosette was now given quite pause, as she had no idea who this woman was. However, she seemed to know exactly who Cosette was. "My darling Euphrasie!" she cried, standing up from the bed and moving towards Cosette, reaching for her hand. Cosette, alarmed, dared not imagine who this could be- it would be too far-fetched. Only Marius and her father knew her real name was Euphrasie. And, of course, someone else. The person who had named her.

The woman spoke again. "I've waited so long... suffered so! I've been praying for this day, and here you are, my love! My sweet! My little Euphrasie! My Cosette!"

Cosette took a step back, her back hitting the door to the bedroom and keeping her upright. The room spun once again, as she realized that she was looking into the face of her mother.


	5. Generations

"Mother?" Cosette whispered, her voice trembling. She reached out a hand to touch the woman in front of her, then drew it away in fear. This could not be real- she didn't even look real. She was clad in all white, and seemed to glow with beauty and purity. The woman looked too much like an angel to be standing here in front of her. But Fantine reached and touched Cosette's hand, tears pouring from her beautiful eyes down her soft, smooth cheeks.

"My love," she whispered. "How I've longed to see you... and you look as you did all those years ago. All grown up, of course, but I recognize you in the eyes. Your beautiful eyes. And you are lovely, just as I knew you would be."

Cosette trembled. There were so many questions she had, but she couldn't seem to find a way to speak.

Fantine continued murmuring observations to Cosette, not waiting to hear a reply. "And you are happy, are you not? You were happy as a child, playing with the other girls? And then Monsieur le Mayor- he was good to you, was he not? As a father? And here you are, rich and happy. You are happy, aren't you? You are happy- you _must_ be-"

"I am," Cosette uttered, her heart beating powerfully.

"You must tell me everything," Fantine said, grasping Cosette's hand strongly. Cosette looked down at their white hands, entwined. She was surprised by the strength of Fantine's hands. They were unmarred and soft, wiped clean of the damage they had faced in life. Only their powerful grip gave away what she had faced on earth.

"You are my mother, aren't you?" Cosette whispered in sheer amazement. Fantine, now put at ease knowing that Cosette was happy, was quiet. She just nodded, the tears finally ceasing to flow as she drew her daughter into a long-awaited embrace.

Cosette guided Fantine to a loveseat in the corner of the room, and began from the beginning of what she could remember.

* * *

"So you're not... disappointed? Angry?" Marius asked, trying not to sound like he was begging, but begging all the same.

"No," Georges said, laying a hand on his sons shoulder. They matched in height to the centimeter. "How could I expect you to come looking for me when you were meerly a child?"

Marius looked away. "I was seventeen when you died. I was more than a child, and overdue to inquire about you."

"Seventeen is still a child," Georges allowed. "You did as you were supposed to- and you defied the old man in your own way, anyway."

Marius smiled. "Tell me, father- do you see others up there, in Heaven?"

He nodded. "Those you wish to see. I see your mother. I have not seen your grandfather," he said, smiling.

"Is it lonely?" Marius wondered.

"It is fulfilling," he said simply. "I cannot explain the experience- you will see eventually."

Marius nodded, glad that Heaven could still remain a mystery. "So it exists?"

"It does. But you can find remnants of it on Earth," he remarked. "It is not the other world that we all predicted it to be when we were living- or you did, as you are still alive. It is merely a combination of things that were on earth. Your soul is fulfilled. But like I said, that can happen on earth- you just have to search for it. However, I fear it beyond the sight of someone who had not reached that point yet."

"Have you ever been disappointed in me?" Marius wondered, echoing his fears. "What have you thought of me? Have I been living the way you wanted me to?"

"I was disappointed in you once," Georges said, sighing and taking a seat in an armchair next to the fire. "The night you decided to try and take your own life. Or rather, give it away."

Marius turned red, ashamed. He didn't know how he could explain the pain he'd felt- how the mere thought of living without Cosette had been unbearable. But suicide was a mortal sin.

"You thought it was honorable. I thought it was a waste. And Marius, I cannot tell you if you have been living your life correctly. That is for you to answer. Have you been living your life as you wish?"

"Yes. For the last few years, anyway," he said.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Are you unselfish? Do you care for your family? Have you gone anything evil?"

"I like to think that I am not selfish. There are times when I have been," he said, remembering how he had tried to keep Cosette for himself, dragging her away from her father in haste and jealousness. "But I care for my family and no, have not done anything evil."

"Than you are going the right way," he said simply. Marius nodded, unsure of how to process these cryptic answers. They gave him little comfort, and this was not how he wanted to spend the precious minutes with his father that he'd wished for since he was seventeen.

"What about Thenardier?" Marius asked. "Did you see how that ended?"

"I did," Georges answered, closing his eyes. "How I wish I had not put that in my will! If there was a man less deserving, I would be hard-pressed to find one. But at last he's done with, your hands washed of him. You did what you could."

"Tell me about yourself," Marius said. "Everything you can remember- I want to know all of it."

And so Georges sat with his son, telling him stories of when he was a child, telling stories of being in Napolean's army, stories of glory and stories of war. Marius hung onto every word, listening attentively so he could remember everything later.

* * *

"You are loved, are you not?" Fantine asked Cosette. "Someone loves you," she said pleadingly. It was a statement, but she said it was a question.

"Yes," Cosette answered honestly. "When I was young, Papa loved me dearly, and now that he's gone, I must say I have been so fortunate. At the time, I did not know how lucky I was, but now I look back and know I truly have someone watching over me," she finished, then blushed at the expression. All of the sudden, she looked up in astonishment.

Fantine smiled, flashing her pure white teeth and grinning at Cosette with a look that seemed to spread light around the room. She was dazzling.

"So it has worked," she said. "You are Fortunata, as I have hoped. I gave my life on earth to make you happy. I must say you did not start off well as a young girl- I got inklings from those wicked Thenardiers that you were not being treated well. But here you are!" Fantine exclaimed, looking her beautiful daughter in the face. "A phoenix, born from the ashes! The ashes of me and my ruined life, and you with your rough childhood. Oh! The cruelty! But look now at all this happiness. I worked to be sure that you did not end like I did- shameful and dirty. You are pure, you are light, you are spring."

Cosette shivered. When her father had uttered Fantine's name on his deathbed, he said she had sacrificed everything for her. Cosette, still an innocent, had not understood. Now she did. She reached out and touched her mother's cheek, this time tears running down her own face as she clung to the woman who had sold herself to give Cosette everything she had today. The sheer horror of what this woman had endured, the disgusting situations and the shame of the degradation was beyond Cosette's contemplation. But the thought of Jean and Marie seemed to wring Cosette's heart. She knew what she would do if she was in Fantine's situation, and this gave her all the more empathy.

"Thank you," she whispered, the words inadequat and falling dead from her lips. "You've given me a life full of love. I wake up every day and I pray for you- I have since I was a very young girl. I also thank God for this fortune, and it is you who gave it to me."

Standing, Cosette gestured out the door.

"Would you like to meet my family?" Cosette asked, smiling brightly, her mouth matching her mothers.

"I dearly would, but I must say your husband would be very confused- I am dead, you know," she murmured.

"No, I dare say he will understand," Cosette said. "You see, we have quite the strange household right now. You see, his dead father is currently in our living room, conversing with him..."

"Oh, my!" Fantine said.

"But first," Cosette said, a smile breaking once again onto her beautiful face, excitement touching her eyes. "You must meet my angels."

Cosette took her mother's hand and led her into the hallway and into the nursery. Turning, she explained, "I am going to introduce you as Madame Fantine- you see, I don't know how long you're to stay, and I fear that introducing you as _grandmére,_ well... it might be confusing, especially since we are the same age-"

Fantine just nodded. "Whatever you say. It is your household, Madame, I am just visiting." She could hardly contain her excitement upon standing so close to her daughter, the girl she had died for. It put her at ease to see that her suffering had been fruitful. Cosette truly had grown wings and flown. She had not sacrificed for nothing.

Cosette opened the door, and spoke to the nurse for a few moments. A beautiful, dark-haired young girl ran up to her, throwing her arms around her mother. Cosette leaned to the ground, and picked up a substantial, strong looking young boy who was teetering around. Turning, she placed a hand on the little girls head.

"This is my little Marie Euphrasie. And this," she said, looking at the fair-haired boy in her hands, "Is my Jean."

Fantine could scarcely speak. Aside from the dark hair, Marie looked just as Cosette had at the age. It was precisely the age she had been when she left Cosette with the Thenardiers. She was beautiful- as was the boy. Fantine's eyes once more filled with tears, tears of happiness.


	6. Dinner

Cosette set Marie on Fantine's lap, watching as her mother trembled with amazement.

"Mama?" Marie asked, her large brown eyes wide as she turned to look at Cosette.

"It's alright," she said, smiling at her daughter. "She's a friend."

Marie looked doubtful- she was so shy. Jean, on the other hand, was eyeing Fantine suspiciously.

"Who?" he asked, his lip pouting.

"Madame Fantine," she said, looking at her mother. This whole affair was so puzzling that Cosette had utterly given up trying to understand it. Instead, she just appreciated the blessings it brought.

Fantine sat, and talked lightly to Marie and Jean, smoothing the little girl's hair. Tears fell down from her eyes as she saw these beautiful creatures, and she remembered the cutting pain that she'd endured leaving Cosette behind.

She turned to Cosette, watching her hold her children, smiling at them, her eyes full of love and warmth. She could see that her cheeks were red, her arms round and strong, her face beautiful. She was well-fed, healthy, happy. Fantine smiled wistfully, and she knew it once again: her mission on earth had been to give Cosette this happiness. She had gotten what she wished for.

"Do you have any idea how long you will be here?" Cosette asked. "Or what you're here to do?"

Fantine shook her head. "Not an inkling- other than that I'm obviously supposed to see you."

Cosette smiled, but stood up, readjusting Jean on her hip, who was pulling at her hair and trying to chew it. "Then I'll have to get a room ready for you. You may come if you like."

Fantine followed with Marie in her arms, who seemed resigned to the fact that her mother would not be rescuing her from this strange woman. Cosette found Nicolette and told her to ready their two spare rooms- after all, if Fantine was to stay, Monsieur Pontmercy would probably be sticking around as well.

Then, she went downstairs to inform Marius of their newest visitor.

"Excuse me for a minute," she said to Fantine, then knocked on the door to the parlor.

"Enter," Marius voice allowed, and she poked her head in. He smiled at her, as did his father, whose eyes fell down to Jean, pouting in his mother's arms. He had been toddling around lately, and had recently taken his first steps. Spending such a long time in his mothers arms prevented from exploring was irksome to the little boy.

"This is Jean," she said, introducing her son to her father-in-law. "I'm sure he's very pleased to meet you."

Jean pouted, suspicious of this new visitor in his home, but once the older Pontmercy had smiled at him, he smiled back, his teeth tiny and babyish.

"May I...?" he asked, holding his arms out. Cosette passed her child to him, and he held Jean carefully and securely. It felt strange to be passing her children around this way. Fantine and Georges were essentially strangers, and yet at the same time they were familiar, known people. Family. So she trusted them, though it went against the grain to be handing her children off like this.

"Marius," she said, taking a step towards him. "It seems I have some news... we have a visitor."

"We do?" he asked. "I didn't hear the bell ring... I don't want to see anyone- not with my father here."

"No- not a caller. My mother is here," she informed, watching as his face went from blank to inquisitive to wide-eyed.

"Your mother... but she's... she's..."

"In rather the same state as your father," Cosette finished. "I know. I don't understand it at all, but it seems our home has become something of a visitation ground for the dead."

He shook his head. "This is nonsensical! But of course she will stay. Where is she now?"

"With Marie, right outside the door. She had to give me up when I was only Marie's age, and she's quite taken with her."

Marius was still shaking his head, unable to comprehend the complete warp of reality that was taking place in his home.

"Go be with her- I'm sure she wants to see you," he said.

"I fear I haven't been very warm towards your father," she said.

"You can see him when we dine tonight. Go to your mother, but leave Jean with us- I think my father has made a new friend," he said, gesturing to where his father was sitting with their child on his lap. Jean was uncharacteristically trusting and friendly with him.

She smiled graciously, curtsied to Monsieur Pontmercy the elder, then excused herself.

* * *

Cosette could truthfully say that dinner that evening had been one of the strangest experiences of her life. She and Marius had kept Aunt Gillenormond in the dark about Courfeyrac's true state-of-being, but this time it was far more difficult, as she had attended the wedding of her sister and Georges Pontmercy. Naturally, something had to be done. Her reserved nature did not deal well with the supernatural.

So, before dinner, Marius and Cosette decended upon her, knocking on her door.

"There's nothing else we do but tell her," Marius reasoned. "She has to know, otherwise she'll just drop to the floor when she comes into the dining- hello, Aunt!"

"Yes?" she asked, straightening her glasses and eyeing the young couple suspiciously.

"We have something to tell you," Cosette said, stating the obvious. She bit her lip and looked to Marius for help.

"We have visitors downstairs who will be joining us for dinner, and they might surprise you."

Aunt Gillenormond simply stared at him, inviting him to continue.

"My father is here," he said bluntly. Cosette looked at him, annoyed- couldn't he be a _little_ more tactful?

"We seem to have encountered _quite_ the surprising situation," Cosette said lightly. "We have two visitors from heaven living in our house for the next few days, and though we don't understand what's brought them here, we are going to be generous hosts."

Mademoiselle Gillenormond eyed them very suspiciously, her gaze cold and confused, and then she gestured for them to lead the way downstairs.

"I don't believe you," she said. "This is utterly impossible- to think, the dead, in _our_ living room-"

She stopped short. There were in fact two strangers in her home- one, a beautiful blond woman who she did not recognize, and then someone that she _did_ recognize.

"Hello, Monsieur la Baron Pontmercy," she said, her voice quivering as she stared into her brother-in-laws face. For a minute, she forgot he was dead; he looked so _real!_ All she could think about was how this brigand was standing in her father's house, the place where he never was welcome. Cold words bubbled to her lips, but her nephews silencing glare quickly pushed them down again. In their place, she felt overwhelmed. She was too old for this kind of emotion to be thrust upon her- this confusion was so powerful! She followed the rest of the family into the dining room, and was quiet for the rest of dinner, frequently closing her eyes and trying to convince herself that none of this was real.

Throughout dinner, Marius and Cosette were in a kind of awe. He hung on every single word his father said, and Fantine hung on everything Cosette said. There was a kind of worship going on between the children who were no longer children and their parents who were no longer alive. The four wanted to know everything about the ones who had been forever clothed in mystery- Georges longed to see how his grandson had grown up, Fantine was overjoyed so see her daughter so happy, Cosette was in respectful astonishment of how much a person could sacrifice, and Marius was simply bent over apologetically, forever believing he was not good enough to be his father's son.

By the end of the evening, Cosette had a headache, but she was nonetheless satisfied with her new found relationships. As she started to fall asleep, she thought again about the woman who had given everything for her. Everything that she had now was due to Fantine's sacrifice, and Cosette could not begin to thank her. But she knew now that sheer power of the love that Fantine must have felt for her, and she knew there were people that she would sacrifice everything for. It was just lucky that she didn't have to.


End file.
